Improvement in paper-cutting machines



M. BRADLEY. Paper-Cutting Machine, 4 No.- 215,205. Patented May 13,1879.

M I I 1 I I I I I u w UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIoE;

MILTON BRADLEY, OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN PAPER-CUTTING MACHINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 215,205, dated May 13,1879; application filed December 16, 1878.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MILTON BRADLEY, of Springfield, county of Hampden,and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements inPaper-Gard Outters,.which improvements are fully setforth in the annexedspecification and in the accompanying drawings.

My improvements relate to such card-cutters as are constructed with asuitable table and width-gage, and having hinged to said table alever-cutter; and consists in a peculiar construction of thecutter-hinge, whereby the side of the latter next to the sheet ofcardboard being cut is set 011' from the line of the cutting-edges oftlfe'kfives; also, in such a construction of the cutter-lever and itshingesupport as provides for a combined vertical and oblique movement asthe heel of the cutter moves to or from the edge of the knifeplate onthe table, and at the same time furnishes a convenient stop for holdingthe cutter-lever in an upright position while adjusting the card-boardor the gage.

The object of my invention is to provide a card-board cutter which,though of small dimensions in itself, will be as well adapted forcutting long strips from card-board as would a much larger machine, thusmeeting a Want long felt by parties of moderate means for a machine thatwill cut strips longer than the knife of the cutter, but not of costlyconstruction.

Cutters made for the uses for which mine is intended have heretoforebeen constructed with a knife long enough to cut a strip from a sheet ofcard-board clear across its end or side at one cut, thus making itnecessary to make a knife as long as the Width of the paper, and a tableequally as wide; and as it is not the custom of the paper trade tofurnish small sheets of card-board, persons having to out it into cardsare obliged to purchase a large and costly cutter, or get the work doneby those Who have such a machine. My cutter obviatesthis inconvenience,and presents other advantages, as hereinafter set forth.

Referring to the drawings, which consist of four figures, Figure l is aplan view of my cutter. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of one corner,showing the rear end of the cutter-lever and the cutter-lever hinge.Fig.3 is a view of a section of a knife and cutter lever and shear-bladeon the table. Fig. 4 is a view showing the shape of the knife incutter-lever a.

In the drawings, A is an iron frame, extending from the back to thefront side of the tablefand to which the latter issecured, and on whichthe cutter-lever is hinged. B is the table. 0 is a gage-bar. D is theknife-plate, secured flatwise to frame A, between table B and theswinging knife. a is the cutter-lever. b is the knife, secured to levera. d is a bolt firmly fixed in lever 01. E is a hinge-support on frame Afor lever a. h is a spring 011 bolt 07, between support E and. nut i. nis a camprojection on lever a. 0 is a cam-projection on hinge-support E.I is a parallel guidesupport secured to the under side of table B. K isa parallel gage-carriage, arranged to slide on support I, and is securedon the latter by a bolt and thumb-screw, s. t is a parallel gage,secured on carriage K.

I construct frame A with hinge-support E thereon, and of such form fromrear to front as will permit of securing table B thereto, so that itsupper face will be level with that portion of frame A underhinge-support E, and with the surface of knife-plate D, which islikewise secured to frame A, as shown.

Hinge-support E is cast on frame A,and is drilled out to receive freelybolt d, one end of which is threaded, which is firmly driven into aproper hole drilled through the rear end of lever a, and by it saidlever is pivoted to said hinge-support. Hinge-support E projects outover a corner of the upper faceof frame A parallel thereto, and fromsaid upper face the base of said support rises vertically, and at rightangles to said face, up to the under side of said support, and saidvertical portion Z of said base is set oil a little from the line of thecutting-edge of knife-plate D toward gage t. Nut 2' is screwed onto theend of said bolt, as shown in Fig. 2, but not up against hinge-supportE, thus leaving a space between the latter and said nut for thereception of coiled spring h.

On both lever a and hinge-support E, I cast th e cam-proj ections n and0. The faces of the circular portions of hinge-support E and lever asurrounding bolt d are not permitted to come together, and partiallyacross a space so formed between them project the said cam-projections aand 0, but not opposite each other, when the two knives b and D are injuxtaposition, or in the act of cutting; but they then stand as shown inFig. 2.

On the side of lever 11 is secured knife I), as as shown in Figs. 1 and3, its bottom edge beveled back in the usual form.

Gage-bar c is fitted into a groove in table B at right angles to theedge of knife-plate D, one end being cut away on its under side, so itmay pass over the top face of kniieplate I) up to its edge next to knifeI).

Knife-plate D is secured to frame A, as shown in Fig. 1, with itscutting-edge parallel to the side of knife I), and the exposed faces ofsaid two knives stand at right angles to each other when operatingtogether to out. The edge of knife D next to knife b is beveled off, asshown in Fig, 3.

Table B is made of wood, secured to proper under battens, and by thelatter secured to frame A.

To table B and frame A is secured parallel gage-support I, cast withways, on which parallel gage carriage K is arranged to slide to and fromtable B and said carriage, in the arm of which parallel gage t issecured, is retained at any desired distance from the table on support Iby bolt and thumb-screw s, said bolt passing up through a slot in saidsupport between said ways.

The operation of my cutter, when used for slitting card-board or cuttingstrips longer than the knife of the cutter, is as follows, viz.: Iremove gage-bar c, adjust gage t through carriage K on support I at sucha distance from knife D as the width of the strips to be cut requires,and secure it there by bolt and nut s, and, lifting up lever a and knifeb by the projecting handles of the former, lay the sheet of card-boardon table B, pushing one edge against gage-bar 2, its back edge beingabout on a line with the groove in table B, in which gage-bar c isplaced, or just forward of the meeting-point of the two knives when theybegin to cut. Presuming that the above-mentioned sheet of card-board iswider than table B, or than from its junction with the knives when theybegin to cut to the front edge of the table, it will be seen that onecut of the knives will not sever the strip from the board. Therefore,after having made one cut the operator pushes the sheet back towardhingesupport E. The end of the strip between the table and gage tdropsdown under the rear end of lever a, between the rear ends of the latterand gage t, and moves freely back, and the cut edge of the sheet followsthe vertical portion z of hinge-support E between the latter and theflat portion of frame A, which side of frame A at that point is slightlyset off from a line with the cutting-edge of the knifeplate D, and thusthe whole sheet can freely slide back, so as to allow of successivecuts,

until the strip shall be entirely out off, the position of hinge-supportE relative to the cuttingline of the knives allowing the sheet ofcard-hoard to be moved back while cutting, with the slit portions of thecard-board astride of the vertical portion z of said support.

In order to provide for an unobstructed movement of the cut end of apartly-cut strip backward between gage t and pivoted end of knife-levera, I support gage tand its carriage K only at one end on support I. A,

When my cutter is used for cutting strips of board into cards, I placegage'bar c in its groove in table B, sliding it up against knife b. Ithen adjust gage t at such a distance from knife-plate D as will givethe requisite length of cards, and placing said strip on the table bythe side of the gage-bar 0, under knife I), with one end against gage t,the cards are cut in the usual manner.

The functions of cam-projections n and 0 on lever a and hinge-support Eare twofoldviz., the coiled spring h on bolt 01 operates to draw levera, in which said bolt is fixed, sidewise toward knife-plate D, and thuscause the face and cutting-edge of knife I) on said lever to pressagainst the upper sharp portion of the edge of plate D, and thus producethe requisite close contact of the cutting-edges of the two knives tomake them operate to cut properly.

When lever on is lifted up in the act of cutting, knife gradually leavesplate D; and when the heel or rear end of knife 11 lifts clear fromplate D, the knife would suddenly spring over the face of plate D, ifnot prevented, and be out of position for the downward stroke of knifeb, and, besides, the rear point of said knife and the cutting-edge ofplate D would become injured by such unrestrained action of spring h.Therefore I place said cam-projections on the side parts, as shown, sothat when lover a is elevated, as before described, causing the rear endof lever a and bolt 01 to rotate in hinge-support E, cam-projection itstrikes projection 0 just before the heel of knife b rises aboveknife-plate D and as the said two pro ections meet, the rear end oflever a is thereby moved away from support E, compressing spring h, andcarrying said lever and knife b out to the dotted line at the left ofFig. 2, giving the heel of knife b, at this point in the upward courseof the knife, an upwardly-oblique motion from the edge of plate D; andwhen the knife b descends it is carried with a reverse motion againstthe edge of plate D, guided by said cam-projections, so that the heel ofknife b is moved downward and sidewise against the edge of plate Dbefore it commences its cutting-stroke. A second function of saidcam-projections is to hold lever a in an upright position, or nearly so,by

turning projection it around under projection 0, when spring h, drawinglover a toward hinge-support E, thus retains said lever in a liftedposition.

What I claim as my invention is- 1. The combination, in a card-cutter,of the stationary knife D, pivoted knife a, and appliances,substantially as described whereby the heel of the knife on is carriedoutward as the knife is raised, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with lever a, having thereon cam-projection n, ofbolt d, spring h, and hinge-support E, having thereon cam-projection 0,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination, in a paper-cutter, of the stationary knife D and amovable knife, a, pivoted to the standard or bracket at one side of theplane of the cutting-edges, thereby leaving said plane unobstructed,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

MILTON BRADLEY. in presence of H. A. GHAPIN, I J. A. BOLEN.

